Sharing Common Ground: Art, Science and Technology

Contrary to popular perception, academics in art, science and technology are not isolated in separate camps. A myriad of collaborations are happening across Australia. Where these take place respectfully and inclusively, they are producing new ways of thinking, seeing and creating expressed in both artistic and scientific outcomes. In less equitable settings, creative arts risks losing its identity and independence. Evolutions in science and technology continue to shape the practice of art and, although policy frameworks have still to catch up, the contribution that art brings to science and technology development is increasingly being recognised.

In this NiTRO’s first anniversary edition, creative artists, and colleagues in other disciplines, discuss their perspectives and experiences of the connectivity between art, science and technology.

Welcome to the 8th edition of NiTRO, in which we revisit the ongoing art-science debate both within academia and as a way of expanding our understanding of the world. As Ai Weiwei suggests, art offers a particular approach to knowledge that is distinct from the sciences, but the notion of ‘two cultures’[ii] is a phenomenon that perhaps best suits the politics of division than the actualities of our inter-related disciplines, and their collective contribution to a rounded and more informed modern society.

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The first edition of NiTRO went live on 30 June 2016 with a focus on the future for creative arts amidst the flurry of government research and higher education reports. Its first six months were carefully monitored by the DDCA President and Board -Would it be of interest to tertiary creative artists? Or anyone else for that matter? Would it become just a promotional mouthpiece for a couple of high profile universities? Would it deliver the DDCA’s aims to encourage discussion across creative arts disciplines and more broadly about the value of tertiary located creative arts.

It may be useful to understand that the Field A1 of the medial orbito-frontal cortex (mOFC) is the place where humans experience 'aesthetic emotion' . . . This was the conclusion from a study that sought to correlate mathematical beauty and brain activity, . . .in which sixteen mathematicians rated Leonhard Euler's identityas the most beautiful equation . . .

That moment, that point in time, now, is being compressed, shrunk into the ongoing, transformed into a continuum. Technology has disrupted time as the rhythms of our lives are morphed and the distinctions between now and then, past, present and future becomes blurred

A filmmaker who teaches told me that he was acutely aware of copyright law, when he brought in excerpts of movies to show in class—work that he had, illegally, copied and assembled into a form that was usable in a classroom setting. . . But he did it, because that was what he had to do, to teach. Furthermore, he sometimes showed work that was unavailable yet in his library. “It’s very frustrating to have to violate the law in order to do a good job teaching,”

“We have inherited our current political systems, whether communism or liberal democracy, from the Industrial Revolution. And I don’t think that either of them can survive the completely different realities of biotechnology and artificial intelligence.” (Harari)

Art and technology. Creativity and invention. Curiosity and innovation. . . .Within the Academy the artist can play an important role in unlocking unforeseen research potential by imaginatively engaging with burgeoning technology. When married with established modes of practice the artist as researcher not only offers a unique vision within an interdisciplinary context but also employs the cutting edge of technological advancement to refresh the very foundations of their own discipline. That is, the creative application of new technology opens up a space for what is to follow while also making the old new again

Since the establishment of UWA’s dedicated art and science lab SymbioticAin 2000, there has been a growing interest in fostering connections across art and science. An increasing number of academic staff and HDR students are working across the nexus of art and science at major Australian Universities including UNSW, Curtin, QUT, Monash and UTAS. There has been an explosion of investment in organisations and public programs to further encourage interdisciplinary engagement – just think of the newly established Science Gallery franchise at Melbourne University.

Being a writer was always a romantic idea for me. I was a terribly antisocial child, and I liked the idea of hiding away in my bedroom for days – even months – on end and bashing away at a keyboard until a masterpiece came out. I was born in 1990, so a keyboard was part of my fantasy. Maybe if I’d been born a little earlier, I would have dreamed of stacks of pen and paper. Or a typewriter.

As I write, I’m in London, having spent the last day as a member of the User Board for EU Horizon 2020 project, WhoLoDance. WhoLoDance is developing a motion capture data library of dance movement across the genres of ballet, contemporary dance, flamenco and Greek folk dance, and a suite of new technological tools for searching, matching, documenting, learning and sharing dance. Movement based search engines, movement generation engines, holographic dance displays and augmented and virtual reality systems (AR and VR) for dance preservation and teaching are just some of the aims of this project.

Managing intellectual property can be challenging at the best of times, and university IP policies can add an extra layer of complexity for academics producing scholarly and creative works. This primer provides a short overview of the general legal principles likely to apply to creative arts practitioners working in the university sector